Differential reactivity of the inner and outer positions of Au25(SCH2CH2Ph)18 dimeric staples under place exchange conditions.

The kinetic analysis of the place exchange reaction on the neutral Au25(SCH2CH2Ph)18 cluster by using 4-fluorobenzylthiol and a series of substituted arylthiols allowed us to establish, for the first time, that the selectivity for the inner and outer positions of the dimeric staples of the cluster can be modulated by using incoming thiols with different structures.